Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro

13:00. Barra da Tijuca. Sunday. Enzo and Vini were spending another relaxed and peaceful day at the pool. Despite the time of day, the two did not give a damn about toasting in the sun for hours and ending the day like two sluggish crabs. And, of course, the pool at that time was usually reasonably full, so it could be an opportunity to meet up with friends. Gabi, one of them, returned from the beach and dropped his surfboard on Enzo's table, who was wearing a sunglasses and beach shorts.

- Hey Enzo, could you do me a favor? - asked Gabi, blocking out the sun.

- Go ahead.

- Could you put 100 bucks on Defensa Y Justicia? If the bet goes green, I'll get the money from you later.

- Defensa Y Justicia? - Enzo was surprised. - Since when do you follow the Argentine League?

- And since when do you?

- All right, I take it. But I don't think it's a good bet.

- Why do you say that?

- Well, my friend, this week is Libertadores Day, so teams usually rotate their starters. Maybe that is the case today, I haven't checked the odds of this match, but if you want me to put 100 on it, I will.

- Okay, thanks.

Vini stared at Enzo for a few seconds.

- What?

- Have you become one of those guys who charge for betting tips?

- Those guys are called tipsters. I didn't charge a thing, buddy. It was totally free.

- You're squirming, aren't you?

- If he wins the bet, I will.

Vini started laughing.

- You're an idiot.

To their surprise, a new boy appeared. He was younger than Vini and Enzo. He was wearing a designer T-shirt, Adidas shoes, and a cap from a hippie band.

- Who's the new guy? - Enzo lowered his sunglasses to get a better view.

- I have no idea. - Vini answered, without much interest.

- Do you want to bet that something bizarre will happen because of him?

- You should be careful with this accumulation of bets, my friend.

- Relax, I know what I'm doing.

Yes, Enzo repeated this sentence several times, but almost always it meant exactly the opposite of what he really meant.

The new guy dropped his shoes at the edge of the pool and jumped in, splashing water everywhere. Vini thought it was weird, but he didn't argue. Enzo went to the bar and got a glass of lemonade. Meanwhile, the Williams, a couple who were friends of Vini and Enzo, arrived from the beach, carrying two chairs and a huge tent. Vini waved and asked if they wanted a table to sit at.

- No, thanks. - His wife answered. - We're already leaving. Have you met our son?

Vini frowned doubtfully, as he didn't remember the Williams couple ever having a baby. You couldn't hide certain things in Lake Buena Vista. A child? Even less.

- We adopted him last week.

- Oh, really? - Vini was curious. - That's great.

- I'll call him over here. Thomas! Thomas!

The boy got out of the pool and approached Vini. It was then that he felt something strange.

- Vinicius, this is Thomas, our son.

But Vini seemed stunned by something.

- Hello. - Vini replied, slowly, in a state of confusion.

- Who are you? - Thomas asked.

- Vinicius.

- I'm Thomas. Son of the Williams.

- Ahem...

Hours later, Vini still could not understand what the hell had happened. Back in his apartment, he was looking for an explanation as to why he felt so uncomfortable around that boy.

- What do you mean, Vini? - Enzo didn't understand.

- I'm telling you, Enzo. There is something wrong with that kid.

- Because of what, exactly? A strange feeling?

- Yes, Enzo! A weird intuition.

- Oh, Vini, please. Imagine you are a forensic investigator. During the investigation you say: oh, officer, I have an intuition that the culprit is a man who lives on Jarbas de Camargo Avenue.

- What are you saying? That my intuition is wrong?

- Vini, buddy, think with me. They are the boy's parents. If something was wrong, don't you think they should have such intuition?

- Well, yes.

- I rest my case, Your Honor.

- I'm telling you, Enzo. I'm telling you!

The next day, Vini had to go to the concierge at Lake to check his mail. The doorman did a long search, but found no message for him.

- There is nothing here, Vinicius.

- There isn't? - Vini was surprised. - What do you mean? The mail always arrives on the 12th.

- How long has it been?

- More than 10 years.

- Sorry, we have nothing.

That was fine, but then something in Vini snapped. In a bizarre way he started thinking about Thomas and his strange gut feeling. And, obviously, about that idiot Enzo. So he thought that it was better not to risk it. He went to the Williams' apartment on the 16th floor of Block 1. He knocked on the door twice and a nice maid answered him.

- I wanted to ask a question...

As he was about to ask the question, Vini looked at the table. There were some envelopes scattered about. A mess. But Vini knew he had to double-check. And he had the answer. Without warning, he went into the apartment and started zipping through the envelopes. And there it was. The envelope that should be in his mail.

- Hey, that's my mail! - Vini commented. - And it has no name!

- What's going on? - Mr. Williams appeared in formal clothes. He was probably already on his way to work.

- This is my mail. - Vini explained.

- What do you mean? Was it in the middle of ours?

- No, the envelope is different. I did this to prevent this problem from happening. The people at the reception already know about it.

To make matters worse, Vini could see Thomas spying on the discussion from his room. That was very odd. But to avoid trouble, he simply took his envelope and left. Still, it could be worse.

- I'm telling you, Enzo! Somehow he got my envelope from the bills here at home.

- How could he do that?

- I don't know! I don't know!

Then Vini lost contact with Enzo. The call on the intercom was simply inexplicably cut off. To make the situation more chaotic, Vini heard knocking at his door. To his surprise, Mr. Williams was the one on the other side, and he did not look happy at all.

- Where are the jewels?

- What?

- The jewels, Vinicius. They have been in my family for years. They're gone.

- And why would I know about your jewelry?

- What do you think I am, some kind of idiot? I've always left them in a specific place for years. You showed up at my house unannounced and entered uninvited. When you left, they were gone. What do you want me to think?

Well, Vini would need a miracle.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

- Hello. - said Enzo. - What's going on?

- Enzo, your friend has my jewelry?

Enzo stared at Vini. And asked:

- Should I know this one, Vini?

- No, you idiot! - Vini complained. - Look, there must be an explanation for this giant misunderstanding.

Absolutely. But how to explain the unexplainable at that moment?

A few days later, around ten o'clock at night, Enzo was returning from a party late at night. He could not see, because he was dying of sleep. He didn't even have the energy to reach for his keys in his own pocket, so he had a brilliant idea.

- What is it, Enzo?

- Can I crash in there? I forgot my keys?

- Have you looked under the doormat?

- No, why?

- That's where people usually...

Vini stopped talking, because he also had a great idea.

- If you want, lie down on the couch.

- What about you?

- I have other plans.

Vini went to Block 1. He used the main elevator to the 16th floor. As soon as he reached the level, he felt an extraordinary rush of adrenaline coursing through his entire body. He tried to calm himself down at first. But first he checked to see if the key was really under the mat. Yes, luck was smiling on him.

- Ha. Typical.

As it turned out, Vini was not to be fooled. For as soon as he put the key in the lock, he was taking the risk of being arrested or much worse. So he had to be quick. He entered the Williams' apartment and slowly closed the door. All the lights were off. The blueprints of Lake's apartments were similar, meaning that the couple's bedroom in one apartment could be right underneath the other one downstairs. Vini was counting on this information. Because if it was true, then Thomas' bedroom would be exactly where his own bedroom would be. And he was right.

- Bingo!

Vini was very careful. Stepping on a toy or tripping was not in the plans. Initially, he thought about the places where the boy might have hidden the jewelry. Vini was confident. But in the dark, he would need a lot of luck. Or else...

- Holy shit! - Vini thought about shouting, but only muttered. - Enzo! What are you doing here?

- I wasn't sleepy. - Enzo justified.

- How did you get in?

- Never mind! Try to find the jewelry.

- Have you looked in the drawer?

- Yes.

- Maybe in the closet?

- I won't be able to open it.

- Have you tried under the bed?

- It's jewelry, not porn!

- Okay, fine.

But as it turned out, Enzo's idea was very clever, as Vini found a beautiful silver ladies' cord hidden under the bed.

- We have found the pirate's treasure, Enzo!

- Who knows what else this little brat is hiding. Hey, is he an adult like in the Orphan movie?

- I don't know, Enzo. But he is too much of a child to look like an adult.

- In the movie Esther was too.

- Stop playing around and take a picture.

- What are you going to do?

- You'll see.

Enzo took three pictures of the cord hidden under the bed. Vini gestured with his hand in the affirmative. And they left the apartment, back to Block 2, where they had been living.

The next day, Vini was awakened by loud knocks at the door. As he went over, he felt another strange chill. It couldn't be Enzo, for he had never done this, nor would he ever do this. No, this was something else.

- Vinicius Valverde? - a policeman asked.

- Sadly, yes - Vini looked confused.

- You will be taken by us to the police station. You are under arrest, anything you say can and will be used against you, you have the right to an attorney, if you can't afford one, the state will provide one for you, blah, blah, blah.

- What the fuck is this?

Before I could understand what was going on, Enzo came running down the stairs to Vini's floor.

- Enzo, what the fuck is going on?

- The Williams were murdered yesterday.

Vini's eyes just fell out of his face.

- Yesterday? How? If we were ther...

Vini immediately stopped talking. He remembered the classic policeman's phrase: anything you say can be used against you.

- Wait, wait, wait. - Enzo said. - We have a way to show that we are innocent.

- We? - The policeman questioned. - You were there too?

Uh-oh. That's what happens when you talk too much.

- No. - Enzo denied it. - But Vini is very smart. He left his cell phone on at the Williams' house.

- So?

- So... He wouldn't film himself murdering anyone! I mean, look at him, does he look like one of those crazy youtubers who does a lot of shit in order to get views?

- Honestly, no. - Said one of the policemen. - He seems like a nice guy.

- But that' s not an argument. - The other policeman was convinced that Vini was guilty.

- That's fine - he said. Then look at the surveillance camera.

Surveillance camera?

- Surveillance camera?

- Yes - Enzo confirmed. - The camera will show us leaving the Williams' house at dawn, but the shot, if you can hear the video. It was at 5:7 in the morning.

- We were no longer there! - Vini agreed.

- Well, do we have any other suspects?

- Actually, my dear officer, we do. But he's not here.

The policemen began to wonder what Enzo meant by this. With no concrete evidence, Vini was released, so the two of them could celebrate at the pool at Lake, exactly where the story started. The two were lying on the sun loungers with a cigar in their mouths and a cold lemonade in their hands.

- Enzo, I have never said this in my life, but you are a genius. - Vini said.

- Thank you, Enzo.

- I wonder what happened to Thomas?

Enzo swung his head forward, to indicate to Vini that the answer was right in front of him.

- Look, that's him. Isn't it?

- Positive, buddy. - Vini confirmed.

- Do you think he's...

- He pulled a Suzanne Von Richthofen(*)? I suppose so.

- He's going to the sauna. - Enzo stared at Vini. - Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

- Actually, I am. - Vini smiled maliciously.

The two walked discreetly to the sauna. Thomas dropped his clothes and entered the cabin. The smoke rose gradually and it was hard to see. Then Enzo locked the door to prevent him from leaving. Thomas despaired, as the smoke and heat began to suffocate him. And it didn't take more than two minutes. As soon as the pounding on the door stopped, they ran to the other exit in the gym, away from the security cameras that had practically saved him from a time in juvie.

(*)Brazilian woman who was convicted of murdering her parents on October 31, 2002, with the help of her boyfriend and his brother. She was put on trial in São Paulo in July 2006 and was sentenced to 39 years and 6 months in prison.